The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 1 of 4

118 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
Wish- b. Wrwa stated, from his father, that Asmi', daughter of Abii Bakr,
said, "Zayd b. 'Amr b. Nufayl spoke the following verses:
'I have abandoned all spirits and demons; thus do all those who are firm and determined;
It is not ai-(Uzzii I worship, nor her daughters, nor do I revere the two idols of the
Tasam tribe.
Nor do I worship Ghanm, though he was our lord when I had little wisdom,
Is it one lord or a thousand I'm to worship according to your calculations?
Do you not know that God erased many men who lived in wickedness,
And gave long life to others through the faith of a people so that from them a young
boy could grow up.
And though a man may falter, one day he may be cured, as a green tree branch will
leaf again."'
Waraqa h. Nawfal spoke the following poeuy:
"You followed the proper course and did right, 0 son of 'Amr, but indeed you have
avoided the hot ovens of hell,
For your worship of a Lord unlike any other and for your abandoning as they are
the spirits of the mountains,
I say that when I descend into some eerie place: have pity, do not let enemies
appear before me.
Have pity! For you are the hope of the spirits; and you are my God, our Lord, and
my hope.
Let the mercy of his Lord attain a man, even if he be seventy valleys down beneath
the earth.
I worship a Lord who responds, and I will not be seen worshipping someone who
does not ever hear anyone calling.
I say as I pray in every church: 'Blessed he You; I have indeed prayed much in
Your name."'
It has been stated earlier that Zayd b. 'Amr b. Nufayl left for Syria along with
Waraqa b. Nawfal, Wthmzn b. al-Huwayrith, and Whayd Allah b. Jahsh. All
became Christians except Zayd, who adopted no religion but remained in his
natural state of the worship of God alone and without partner, following as best
he could the religion of Abraham, as we have mentioned.
As for Waraqa b. Nawfal, his story will he told in discussion of the beginnings
of the divine mission.
As for Wthman b. al-Hnwayrith, he remained in Syria until he died there
while with Caesar. His story is very strange and was related by at-Umawi. In
brief it is as follows. When he approached Caesar and complained to him of the
treament he had received from his own people, Caesar wrote for him to Ibn
Jafna, the king of the Arabs of Syria, to the effect that he should provide an army
to go with hi
to make war against Quraysh. He did decide to do so, but the